


Louder Than Words

by madroseking



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Blood, M/M, Suicide, king AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-29
Updated: 2014-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 05:44:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2217975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madroseking/pseuds/madroseking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dragon threatens the kingdom of King Geoffrey I, and he sends a team of elite knights on a quest to vanquish the beast.  However, things don't go as planned and certain. . . adjustments have to be made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for story goes to my friend. She showed me the song "Louder Than Words" by Les Friction (12/10 recommend) and since we're horrible people, she told me her headcanon and I wrote about it! :D I WAS NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAID MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. Also: the depictions of violence can't be considered graphic, and thus aren't tagged so, but if you have issues with dragon battling and injuries ensuing from such, you probably shouldn't read this. Last thing: this is really angsty. Oops.

_There are survivors. They're coming home._  


_They float in darkness. They're not alone._

_Now here they come, now here they come._

_Now they will be received._

_  
_

    Geoff stared vacantly out of the windows of the throne room.  It had been three days since they left, shouldn't there be word by now?  He took up pacing again, probably wearing a track in the carpet.

    News of a dragon attacking a town on the western outskirts of the kingdom had reached the castle, and the king had immediately sent a team of his best knights to help the situation.  He didn't regret the decision; he loved his people.  A dragon could raid for months on end, killing livestock and destroying villages.  Best to take care of the problem swiftly and efficiently.  If anyone could accomplish slaying a dragon it was them.

    Michael, an absolutely ferocious warrior, who had earned the nickname "Mogar" after one of the most dangerous dragons in history.  His diamond sword was renowned, almost as much so as his skill.

     Ryan, completely terrifying with his muscular frame and obsidian scythe.  He was also rumored to be crazy.  Maybe he did have an unnatural apathy when it came to killing things, but he was clever and witty.

     Ray, owner of a sleek rapier.  The shortest and youngest, but unbelievably fast.  He was known as the Red Knight, likely due to his affinity for the color.  Holding a wild passion for roses, just as sharp as the thorns of his flowers.  Compassion could morph into a cold, calculating demeanor instantly.  Foresight came easily to him, and strategy was his forte.  He was loyal, just as much as the rest of them.

     The most unsuspecting soldier was a scrawny, lanky thing called Gavin.  Severely underestimated if Geoff was concerned, and that mistake had cost people their lives.  He might be absolute trash at close range, but the eyes of a hawk and the accuracy to rival the greatest archers of all time made him invaluable.  He seemed to most that saw him completely scatterbrained, but the focus he had when he slowly exhaled and let an arrow fly fooled everyone else.

     And then there was Jack.  Inarguably the kindest man Geoff had ever met.  He wielded a giant battleaxe, which admittedly, doubled with his enormous size, caused panic in the ranks of his foes.  He had become a counselor, providing knowledge and wisdom to Geoff in the darkest times.  Not too shabby in hand-to-hand combat, an ability proved convenient more than once.  Stories circulated around the castle about this friendly giant and the king being more than just friends, and Geoff didn't deny it to himself; they were extremely close.  Whoever had found out about that though had someone to answer to.  Geoff sighed, thinking about that sweet gaze and those sincere smiles directed only at him.

     His thoughts were regrettably interrupted by insistent knocking at the doors.  Returning to sit at the throne, he cleared his throat and said, "Come in."

     A messenger approached Geoff with a folded scrap of parchment in her extended hand.  Passing it to the king with a quiet, "Your Highness," Geoff excused her with a nod and unfolded the note.

  


**Handful of people spotted leaving targeted village**

**Headed north in direction of castle**

**Dragon not sighted since**  


  


    Geoff breathed a sigh of relief.  They did it.  They were on their way back, right now.  They were safe.  Jack was safe.

     He jumped up from the throne, sweeping out of the hall and through the corridors.  Servants and maids scrambled out of his way as he brushed past, head high.

     "The knights were successful!" he proclaimed.  "A feast is to take place upon their arrival.  Come, all, and rejoice!  There shall be a banquet held, the likes of which never before seen.  Take heed, the heroes return!"

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lord here we go.

_No one could outrun the crash._

_It was all reduced to rubble, and then again to ash._

_Through the blinding, burning light, there's no use to fight._

_There's no one out there. . ._

 

     Geoff sat upon his throne, pleased.  The preparations were going smoothly, and news had traveled quickly throughout the land of the champions.  Everyone was looking forward to the celebrations.  The people were excited and lively.

     An informant threw open the doors to the hall with a loud  _clang_ , and the king, now mildly irritated, glanced sharply at the offender of the peace.  His reprimandation died on his tongue at the look on the man's face.  He was pale, and his eyes were wide with... shock?  Confused, Geoff called out to him, beckoning him to come closer and speak.

     "M-my liege-" the man stuttered out.

     Geoff toned down his steely expression to calm the other.  "What is it?"

     "A report, from the town attacked by the dragon."

     The king grew a little concerned, as he thought the dragon had reappeared.  After several minutes, he managed to draw out a reassurance that after the initial strike, it hadn't been witnessed.  The concern faded and was replaced by curiosity.

     When the man had gathered himself, he drew a letter from his pocket and began to read.

     "The village is no more.  The dragon's attack turned everything to ruin.  No structure was left standing."

     "I thought-"

     "And then it was burned to the ground."

     Geoff felt numb.  He couldn't even form words.  He was surprised he didn't shake when he reached out to take the letter and read the rest of it to himself.

 

**Group leaving not seen**

**Left in direction dragon flew**

**Presumed dead**

 

    He forced himself to keep reading.

 

**Body identified at site: Sir Jack Pattillo**

 

    The words on the page blurred together, impossible to read.  The world swam in front of the king's eyes, and he found himself on the floor.  Why wasn't he screaming?  Could he not even weep?

      _Dead._

The wisest knight, with the most insightful advice.  An unparalleled counselor.  Able to see the best course of action.  Sating nations, dodging wars.

      _Dead._

    The kindest man, who showed no anger.  Understanding was always present.  Someone you could bring any problems to.

      _Dead._

     The only person Geoff's ever trusted completely.  The one to go to extreme lengths to draw even a single laugh from the king.  The only one he's ever loved.

      _Dead._  

     Jack loved him.  He had said so, before heading off.  Why had Geoff let him go?

     Someone was yelling.  People were surrounding him.  The king looked down at the sword he had thrust into himself.  Why was he alive?  Why was he fighting?

     

     There was nothing left to fight for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

_There was no signal from where you were._

_All failed contact, no life to stir_

_Hovering above, hovering above_

_Gravity's lure_

 

 

     Gavin looked back at the group, locking eyes with Michael.  He smiled that derpy grin that made the warrior want to punch the scrawny knight (but also kiss him senseless).  And Michael didn't understand.  He didn't figure it out until Gavin's gangly frame was dashed against the rocks and blood stained the ground.  All hell broke loose.

     The group had reached the village right before it was destroyed.  When the dragon fled, they had left to hunt it down.  Well, except for Jack.  He had stayed to help people escape from the fire.  They planned to meet up after the rest of the knights had taken care of the dragon.

     They followed it, presumably back to its lair, a huge sunken plain bordered by a canyon on the opposite side.  Gavin had slithered down the steep slope to get a better view of the canyon from the plain, where the dragon had disappeared.

     "GAVIN!" Michael screamed.  Ray grabbed him before he could run to his death.  Ryan saw that Ray wouldn't be able to hold him much longer and went to help.

     "Let me go! Ray, I swear-"

     "Michael! Have you lost your mind?! You have to think!"

     "Fucking hell, Ray, you have no idea-"

     "Michael, listen to Ray," Ryan said, voice even. "We need to go.  _Now._ "

     " _G-Gavin!_ " Michael gasped, collapsing against the other two.  Gavin's limp form lay halfway across the field, without any telltale rise and fall of a breathing chest or giveaway twitch of a beating heart.  Michael felt sure he was dreaming.  Or drowning.  Maybe both.

     The dragon turned its head towards the lone three, eyes glittering dangerously and intelligently in the sunset.  It took a step in their direction, a menacing snarl ripping from its mouth.  It was massive, easily bigger than a house.  And it was going to kill them.

     "No." Michael said, standing up. "You guys make a break for it. I'll hold the beast off."

     Ray thought there was no way in hell that was happening, but something in Michael's voice cut through to Ryan.

     "Do what you have to," was all he said.

     "Ryan, what are you-" Ray was startled out of speaking when Ryan bodily threw him over his shoulder and sprinted the other way.

     That was all it took for the dragon to attack, but Michael was ready.  He unsheathed his sword and ran headlong into battle to avenge his love.

     "Hey! Remember me, asshole?!" Michael yelled, slicing off a claw when the monster tried to flatten him with a gigantic foot.  The dragon screeched and reared back. 

     "You coward! FIGHT ME!" Michael rolled as flames licked the heels of his boots.  The sparse grass was now alight, blocking the escape of the knight.  He didn't care, though.  One of them would have to die.

     "You've made a mistake, you bastard! Do you hear me?! MY NAME IS FUCKING MOGAR!  **AND YOU KILLED MY BOI!** " Michael roared.  And with that, the dragons were locked into a battle to the end.

     Now, Michael was genetically human, but he had never turned more animalistic in his life.  Devastation morphed into fury, and his vicious blade showed no mercy.

     The dragon, enraged, bent its head to char the warrior, but Michael stabbed it through its left eye, blinding it.  Feeling triumphant, he tried to wrench the weapon in further and through the skull, but the dragon panicked, taking flight.

     Michael barely held on as the ground disappeared underneath him and they flew higher and higher.  Suspended in the air, he felt the sword starting to slide out.  He tried to get a different grip, but there was nothing to hold on to.

     Free falling through the air was weightless and easy, because Michael knew he had done well as he plummeted to join Gavin.


	4. Chapter 4

_We have the force to fight._

_We have the blinding light._

_We have the will to win._

_Forever we'll defend_

 

 

    "Ryan, put me down!" Ray was trying to break the stronger man's grip, but it never loosened as he struggled. "We have to help Michael!"

     There was no reply.

     "Ryan, damn it-"

     "Ray," he interrupted, "Michael knows that fight was a death wish.  He wants us to get away."

     "But... what? Why?"

     “Because he watched Gavin die. You have to live, Ray.”

     "I don't understand-"

     "I can't lose you too, Ray! Not you!"

     "Set me down."

     "Ray-"

     "Do it."

     Ryan set Ray down, but was ready to grab him if he made a break for the direction they came.  He didn't.  He instead grabbed Ryan’s hand and they ran together, making better time than before.

     When they heard the dragon bellow in pain minutes later, they stopped and looked at each other, silently communicating like only they could.  Yes, they would stand and fight.  They had slowed down at the bottom of a ravine, where it was starting to widen into a larger, flat rock surface.  The knights drew their weapons and waited.

     They both spotted the dragon at the same time, flying towards them far overhead.  Chaos had arrived.

    "Ryan," Ray said suddenly, "What if we can't kill it?"

     Ryan tore his gaze away from the incoming beast and turned to Ray.

     "Don't forget the sacrifices they made for us, Ray. Michael probably slowed it down. If we work together, there's nothing we can't do. We have the advantage. We won't be defeated. And I'll protect you, always."

     Ray looked as if they had already lost.

     “Of course”, he choked out. “I've got your back, Ryan.”

     Ryan closed the distance between them and met Ray in a needy kiss.  It wasn't slow and gentle, but rather passionate as they told each other everything in a form that was just simply louder than words.


	5. Chapter 5

_Knocking out the Sun with a runaway transmission_

_A force that can't be heard, coming in louder than words_

_We have the force to fight, we have the blinding light_

_A war is more than heard, coming in louder than words_

 

 

     The dragon awkwardly spiraled down, nearly crashing several times.  When it landed, it became obvious why.

     "Holy shit," Ray breathed.

     "Son of a bitch," Ryan agreed.

     Michael had left the monster half blinded.  How he had even managed to do it, they had no idea, but they didn't have time to contemplate as the stream of fire scorched the spot they stood only seconds before.

     "Ryan, we need to get a feel for how it fights. I can then decide how best to attack. For now, keep it on its toes."

     They danced around the dragon for a while, Ray attentively observing every move.  There were a few close calls, but no injuries.  The beast even seemed to be tiring.

     "Target the blind spot next. Don't get too aggressive, but threaten," Ray suggested.  Easier said than done.  As soon as they got within a certain distance, the difficulty increased substantially.  There would be an unpredictable lash out from its tale or foreleg and they'd have to move rapidly to avoid being hit.

     "I just don't know!" Ray yelled in frustration, dodging a column of flames for the umpteenth time.

     "Ray, we can steal the moon if we have to."

     "It's not the moon we need, it's the- oh.  _Oh._ "

     "Anytime you wanna share, Sunshine! Sort of busy here!"

     "Don't you see, that's it!" Ray exclaimed optimistically, though giving a look of disgust at the nickname. "We need to get rid of the Sun. We have to completely blind it. Then we can sever its head."

     "Why not the heart?"

     "You don't want to be under this thing when we cut the lights."

     "Fair enough. Plan of action?"

     "I'll go to the right- ah!" Ray ducked under a thick tail as it whipped past. "You go to the left. It'll turn to me to cover the blind spot, and you'll take the other eye."

     "Easy enough."

     "Hardly."

     "Shut up, Ray. Believe in us."

     "The power of love?"

     "Exactly."

     "I'm gonna puke."

     "Love you too."

     It was good in theory, but execution went horribly wrong.  Ray approached the dragon on its blind side, and it turned to him, but when it sensed Ryan, the urge to protect its remaining sight won out and its attention was refocused there.  Which immediately put Ryan in jeopardy of fire, feet, horns, and the tail.  He was going to die.  Ray did the only thing he could think of, driving his rapier into the side of its neck.  It wouldn't kill it, but it would definitely give Ryan time to scramble out of range.  Which in turn meant that Ray no longer had anything to deflect-

      _Crack._ The air was knocked right out of him and he knew ribs were broken even before the pain hit.  Ray flew to the earth and figured he had maybe fifteen seconds before a lung was punctured.  He coughed, and blood dripped from his mouth.  The edges of his vision were darkening steadily.

     “Ray?” The voice sounded small and far away, but he still recognized it as Ryan’s.

     “Rye,” he croaked, “I don’t want the moon.”

     Ryan was crying now, Ray could feel the tears on his forehead as they fell freely from Ryan's eyes.  He cradled Ray against him, not daring to believe what was happening.

     "Of course you don't," Ryan whispered. "What do you want?"

     "The power of love."

     "Ray fucking Narvaez Jr.-"

     "I love you." Ray took a shuddering breath, and he knew that one was his last as he slipped into eternal sleep.

      _Don't forget the sacrifices they made for us, Ray._  

     The words caterwauled around Ryan's pounding head.  Ray had died for him.

      _There's nothing we can't do._

      Except kill a dragon without losing each other.

      _We've got the advantage._

     Everyone's dead.  There's nothing to lose anymore.

      _I'll protect you, always._

The voices were mocking him now.

      _Always._

     Ray was dead.

      _Always._

Ryan was as good as dead too.

 

 

     The dragon was huddled up near the wall of the ravine, tending to its wounds.  Maybe it didn't sense Ryan approach, or maybe it was too late to react.  Its head rolled and Ryan fell to his knees, letting that despicable yet ever so beloved crimson hue wash over him.


	6. Chapter 6

_Louder_

 

 

     Ryan rose from his kneel, head held high.  The weight on his head was unfamiliar, but not unwelcome.  He gazed over the sea of faces; not one belonged to someone he wanted to see.  However, they were all his now.  He wouldn’t make Geoff’s mistakes.  He wouldn’t lose everything again.  Everyone could be free of that pain under his rule. “Long live the king,” he stated.

     The call was hastily taken up by his subjects, spreading throughout the mass.  Ryan began the extensive stride to the seat of the throne. “Louder,” he commanded.

     The chant echoed off the walls, along with cries of, “Long live King Ryan!”  Ooh. He liked that.  Good call. “Louder,” he said again.

     Shouts rang around him as he stepped up to the throne. “Hail to the king,” he put in.  That one joined the swell too.  Maybe he could learn to forget.  Maybe this would be good for the kingdom, to have a strong ruler with a firm hand and set ideals.  When there was uniformity, there was no dissention, and by extension, rebellion.

     Ryan turned then towards his audience, relishing the vigor with which they used in praising him.  He let his satisfaction grow on his face, spreading into a full scale Cheshire grin as he sat back into the throne.

 

Thus began the reign of the Mad King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I thought I'd just put this here and leave it to float around in the depths of obscurity, but hey. You found it. I'm sorry, I destroy feelings. Like I said, credit to aforementioned friend. Thanks again.


End file.
